Resident proposes wind turbine

Planning officials soon will be considering a zoning request that would allow for construction of a commercial wind turbine generator in Bear Creek Township.

Township resident Ken Harrington is proposing to install the generator on a hilltop site at 2100 River Road. The device would be mounted on a 265-foot pole and have 130-foot blades, making its height 395 feet at full stretch. Harrington is considering several different turbine models.

Emmet County's zoning ordinance allows commercial wind turbines to be considered as special uses in farm-forest areas such as Harrington's property. For an applicant to be considered for a special-use permit, the turbine site must cover at least 40 acres.

While Harrington's property includes just 28 acres, he has secured commitments from two neighboring landowners that would bring the total available for the turbine to 41.12 acres by way of land leases.

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Construction of the turbine will be contingent on Harrington reaching an agreement for the sale of electricity it would generate. He's expressed interest to the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians and Petoskey's city electric utility about supplying them with power, and said he may also approach utilities such as Great Lakes Energy or Consumers Energy about this as well.

As an initial step in the approval process, Harrington's request first will be considered by the Bear Creek Township Planning Commission. Commissioners will first discuss the matter during a meeting at 7:15 p.m. Wednesday, May 27, at the township hall on Division Road.

Any position that Bear Creek takes on a land-use request serves as an advisory one for county officials, who have final say over zoning matters in the township.

For a permit to be granted, Emmet County assistant planning and zoning director Tammy Doernenburg said the tower must be set back 100 percent of its height from any property line.

"Really, there is no max height for these structures built into our zoning ordinance at this time," Doernenburg said.

The county also requires an applicant to seek Federal Aviation Administration approval for the lowest-intensity lighting that would be acceptable on such a tower. In addition, the applicant must verify that the turbine's operation would produce no vibrations detectable at the site's property line, and that the noise level of the turbine will not exceed 60 decibels at the property line.

Harrington started exploring wind energy about three years ago. Over the past year and a half, he has been researching possibilities for it in Emmet County and more recently in the Rose City area.

As a country, "we are so far behind (in development of renewable energy sources)," Harrington said in an interview earlier this year. "To me, it's just frustrating that we're 20 to 25 years behind the European countries."

Having seen favorable results from a yearlong study of the area's wind patterns using instruments on a temporary tower, Harrington said he eventually hopes he can develop a network of 10 turbines around Emmet County. But first, "I want to get one up and get the community used to it," he added.

In his neighborhood, Harrington said he's heard some criticism of the proposed wind turbine from an aesthetic standpoint, but other neighbors have reacted positively.

"I expect some negativity, but I expect a lot more positive feedback than we've had in the past (about wind turbines)," he added.